Man on Fire

I just looked at the IMDB score for this movie out of interest more than anything. At the time of review the score was 7.7. I regularly see scores of 8+ for movies that, although I have seen them, I can't remember much about them. I haven't seen this film for over a year but it still stays with me. A brilliant actor with great cast and fantastically well directed. Brilliant story too. I urge anyone who hasn't seen "Man On Fire" to watch it in one sitting. Makes you feel well, different.

The second adaptation of A. J. Quinnell's 1980 novel of the same name, Late Filmmaker Tony Scott's 'Man on Fire' is Tough As Hell! A Bad-Ass, Hardcore Flick that is worth your time. 'Man on Fire' Synopsis: In Mexico City, a former assassin swears vengeance on those who committed an unspeakable act against the family he was hired to protect. 'Man on Fire' has a gripping Screenplay Written by Brian Helgeland. It has terrific pacing & interesting twists incepted nicely in the goings-on. Tony Scott was a genius & 'Man on Fire' proves that right, once again. Paul Cameron's Cinematography has grit, while The Editing by Christian Wagner, has clarity. Performance-Wise: Denzel Washington can never be doubted. He pitches in a fine performance, as always. Dakota Fanning is top-notch. Radha Mitchell & Marc Anthony are natural. The Terrific Christopher Walken leaves a mark. Giancarlo Giannini is adequate. On the whole, 'Man on Fire' hits all the right notes.

Tony Scott truly delivers the goods with "Man on Fire". Having already made the gritty and uncompromising "Revenge" some 14 years earlier, Scott takes his contributions to the revenge genre to a whole new level in this excellent thriller. Denzel Washington delivers one of his most powerful performances to date as the world weary retired assassin, Creasy. Through his involvement with the young girl he is paid to protect (Dakota Fanning), he rediscovers his humanity in this moving film. Radha Mitchell is sizzling as Dakota Fanning. In the noughties, Mitchell is definitely one of the silver screen's sexiest leading ladies. This is a great film, full of atmosphere and, as you'd expect from one of the Scott brothers, it's a visual delight. Like "Revenge", Scott's film-making is hard hitting, emotional stuff. What lets "Man on Fire" down is the trendy editing, something that could date this film badly in years to come.

Some really good parts to this, Denzel nails every second he's in (as he always does) and lots of other positives too. I would've rated it higher, but I found the ending a bit flat, coz I was waiting as the car drove off at the end (here's the spoiler) for it to turn out he'd shoved another one of those bombs up his own butt. I was waiting and waiting for him to go for his watch and then...it didn't happen. Shame, felt like he was clever enough to at least go out swinging.

There are a lot of things to like about this film: the plot, the characters, and the photography are great. Denzel Washington carries the story beautifully, and watching the relationship between his and Dakota Fanning's characters evolve during the first half is in my opinion the best part of the whole movie. Unfortunately, the viewing experience is largely diminished by the editing. I found the fast-forward-like, jittery sequences meant to show time or emotional breaks in the story are a major distraction. I really believe the film would have been as good without all that flash. As it is, it feels like music video clips or cheap action TV show sequences being forced into a story that otherwise aspires to be something bigger. I was also disappointed to see the tropes of torture and rough interrogation used so heavily in the second half of the film.

Denzel is good as always, but this turgid, dull potboiler really is a damp squib. It's overlong, too much information gets repeated ad nauseam (how many times do we have to hear what The Brotherhood is?), the director doesn't play fair (the phony Sixth Sense glimpses of Pita), Dakota Fanning is like no kid I've ever met outside of the movies, and the oh-so-hip hyperkinetic editing and visual trickery straight from today's edgy commercials just induces motion sickness, every plot twist is guessable long before it occurs. Plus a gratuitous downer ending... what less could you ask for? Avoid. Note: the DVD has tons of deleted scenes, including an ending suggested by Denzel which I had also thought of while watching the film. It's much better than the current pseudo-Christlike choice, but it's still nowhere near strong enough to save this film.

Denzel Washington and Tony Scott have made 5 films together. This is the best of that bunch from an incredible actor and influential director. It's brutal and unrelenting and I absolutely love it. It's emotionally powerful and gripping while also featuring fantastic stylish shots, a very talented ensemble cast with vicious but realistic violence and action